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Harry l. Spooner was born February 1, 1882, at Muskegon Mich. His mother's maiden name was Florance M. David. She was seven years old when her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Artimus David, settled in Sherman Township, Newaygo Co. in 1859, having come with covered wagons from Branch County, Mich. His father was Lorenzo D. Spooner, who, when the Civil War broke out ran away from home, lying about his age enlisted in the Union army at Meadville, Pennsylvania After the war, he came to Michigan and worked in the lumber woods, becoming a scalar and inspector of lumber. Lorenzo Spooner and Florance David were married in 1876 and lived near and in Fremont for several years. They then moved to Muskegon where Mr. Spooner became inspector for the Muskegon Car Company.
When Harry was two years old, they moved back to Fremont Area. Here Harry attended the Fremont School but did not graduate. He left school at the end of his junior year and started teaching school, having passed the required examination at the age of 16 while in his sophomore year. Later he attended Central Normal for a summer term. He also graduated from the bookkeeping department of Muskegon Commercial College. During the winter of 1901 he worked, first as a cookie and then as a tote teamster, in a lumber camp in northern Wisconsin. The camp was owned by Henry Harding, a former lumberman of Bridgeton, and the foreman was Arthur Kimbell, another Newaygo Co. man of the family from which Kimbell Lake was named.
His greatest pleasure when a boy was in hearing his parents tell of the pioneer days. History was the subject he liked best while attending school and the subject he taught best while teaching. He achieved some reputation as a teacher of History and was twice offered a position in the history department of a university. He had to decline both of these because of not having the necessary collage credits.
While living at Fremont from 1923 to 1926, he was the local correspondent for the Muskegon Chronicle. During this time, he not only reported the news but also ran a historical article nearly every week. He never had any training for journalism, just having pick it up.
Mr. Spooner married Miss Jennie Daly of Denver Township, Newaygo County. They had five children.
While Mr. Spooner had a versatile career, he like history the best of anything and spend all of his spare time possible in his favorite hobby.
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